Classroom notes

Wednesday

May 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 30, 2007 at 9:18 PM

The Needham Community Concert Band is looking for musicians, from semi-professional to college and high school students, who would enjoy playing in a community band. Directed by Needham Public Schools Fine and Performing Arts Director David Neves, the band is in particular need of percussion, oboe and bassoon players.

Community Concert BandThe Needham Community Concert Band is looking for musicians, from semi-professional to college and high school students, who would enjoy playing in a community band. Directed by Needham Public Schools Fine and Performing Arts Director David Neves, the band is in particular need of percussion, oboe and bassoon players. Rehearsals are Tuesday and Thursday evenings beginning July 10, and culminating in a concert at the Memorial Park Gazebo on Thursday, Aug. 2, at 7:30 p.m. For more information or to register, call Needham Community Education at 781-455-0400, ext. 235.

Community Education coursesNeedham Community Education is accepting registrations for three summer courses for high school students: Explore Colleges; SAT Prep; and Driver’s Ed. Explore Colleges is a weeklong class led by Needham High School guidance counselors. Students go on day trips to tour seven schools that represent a range in size and type of college. Students will visit Providence College, Roger Williams College, Westfield State College, Boston University, Wheaton College, Northeastern University and University of Massachusetts at Amherst. They meet with admissions officers and tour the facilities at each school, and develop a sense of what appeals to them most. Two sessions of this class are being offered: July 9-13 and July 23-27. Three sessions of the SAT Prep course are available: a daytime class meeting Wednesday mornings in July and August; and two evening sessions, one meeting Tuesday and Thursday evenings in July, and the other meeting Tuesday and Thursday evenings in August. All classes will meet at Needham High School. Two summer sessions of Driver’s Education are being offered through Brookline Driving School for students 15 years and 9 months or older: June 25-29 and Aug. 20-24. Each session is an intensive one-week course that meets Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., with a half-hour break for lunch. For more information on any of these programs, or to register, please call the NCE office at 781-455-0400, ext. 235, or visit the Needham Schools’ Web site at www.needham.k12.ma.us and click on Community Education, or stop in and see us on the second floor of the School Administration building, 1330 Highland Ave., between 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Lions Club ScholarshipThe Needham Lions Club is again providing a scholarship to a high school senior entering college next year. Eligible candidates must be Needham residents who do not attend Needham High School. To apply, send a letter to the Lions Club describing your academic record, community service and any other experiences that you believe would be applicable in evaluating your candidacy for this award. Letters should be sent to Dan Fitzgerald, 84 Berkshire Road, Needham MA 02492, by June 1.

Golf Club ScholarshipNeedham Golf Club will again this year offer scholarships to members of the graduating class at Needham High School.There are three scholarships available to students; all valued at $2,500.More information on details and requirements can be found by contacting the guidance office at Needham High School.

Summer ExplorationsSummer Explorations, an enrichment program for students entering first through eighth grades, is now accepting registrations. This program is open to all children in Needham and surrounding towns. The program begins on July 9 and ends on Aug. 3, running on all weekday mornings. Sample offerings include: Act One — Theater for Kids, Sculpture, Games Galore, Discover the Outdoor Experience, Jazz Dance Workshop, Adventures in Art, Batik and Tie Dye, Fun with Computers, Only the Wicked Fun Sports and much more. Many classes have limited enrollments, so register early to avoid disappointment. Catalogs were sent home with the children in early March. To register for a class, or for more information, please call Needham Community Education at 781-455-0400, ext. 235. To view the catalog online, go to www.needham.k12.ma.us and click on Community Education.

Integrated Preschool Program Needham Public Schools offers an Integrated Preschool Program designed to meet the individual needs of children, some of whom have disabilities. A developmental teaching approach is utilized to meet the child’s current level of functioning and encourage continued growth in all areas of development. The program is housed at the Newman School.Applications are being accepted for 3- and 4-year old children for the 2007-2008 school year. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis. The program is available three or four mornings per week for 3-year-olds and four afternoons per week for 4-year-olds. Each session is two and a half hours in duration. The Early Childhood Center follows the Needham Public Schools’ calendar.For an application and tuition information, call Leslie Hatton at 781-455-0400, ext. 233.

Needham Women’s Club Essay Contest winners The 2007 Needham Women’s Club’s essay contest asked fifth graders to write about what the town’s fifth-graders and senior citizens can learn from each other and how they could go about sharing what they have to offer each other. The Club received so many thoughtful and well-written essays that the essay judging committee found it hard to choose just two winners. Chloe Weiss, a student at the Mitchell School, and Matthew Ellison, a student at the Broadmeadow School, will receive $100 savings bonds for their essay submissions.Chloe’s essay focused on what she has learned from her grandparents: “In our hectic lives it’s important to slow down and appreciate nature and the people around you.” She suggested that fifth graders could help seniors learn about “the world of computers” and also “how to have more fun.” Chloe also suggested a program bringing fifth-graders and senior citizens together could be set up at school and could involve sharing via e-mails, letters and visits to nursing homes and the senior center. She ended her essay by stating that “I hope when I am a senior citizen someday, I will share my life experience with a fifth-grader.”Modern technology also played a major role in Matthew Ellison’s winning essay. He described his idea of “fifth-grader-to-senior learning sessions” at which the younger generation could teach the older generation how to use technology such as the iPod. Taking this new knowledge, senior citizens could then use the newest technology to help bring history to life for fifth-graders. Matthew wrote: “I think fifth-graders could never imagine the darkness and danger of World War II, the Great Depression and other terrible moments in history until they hear it from someone who was really there.”The Needham Women’s Club would like to thank the students who submitted essays! For more information on the Needham Women’s Club and its many services to the community, please go to www.NeedhamWomensClub.org.